Education PS tells inspectors to stop treating schools as tourist destinations
Turyagyenda said Uganda does not need tourists in its schools, but what she referred to as professional diagnosticians and architects of improvement.
John Chemonges, Bukwo District Inspector of Schools, receives a certificate from Atima as Ayebazibwe (C) looks on during the UNISA annual general meeting in Jinja over the weekend. (Photo by Jackie Nambogga)
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The permanent secretary (PS) at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Dr Kedrace Rwankore Turyagyenda, has challenged school inspectors to shift from merely visiting schools to executing their roles professionally.
Turyagyenda said Uganda does not need tourists in its schools but what she referred to as professional diagnosticians and architects of improvement.
According to the PS, reports from the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) for 2025/2026 indicate that only 42% of schools received a full inspection cycle nationally.
She made the remarks during the closure of the Annual General Meeting of the Uganda National Inspectors of Schools’ Association (UNISA) at Jinja College in Jinja City on September 12, 2026.
UNISA is a body that brings together school inspectors from across Uganda.
Despite receiving budgeted allocations for inspection activities, Turyagyenda noted that some local governments inspected less than 10% of their schools in the last financial year.
“Despite receiving budgeted allocations for inspection activities, having clear inspection tools on the tablets and benefiting from regular training provided by DES, more concerning is the fact that some local governments inspected less than 10% of their schools,” she said.
“Are we visiting schools or inspecting them? This is not merely a matter of semantics. A visit is social, ceremonial or spontaneous. It may involve observations without clearly defined purpose or expected outcome,” she said.
The PS described inspection as a rigorous, systematic and evidence-based process.
She explained that inspection is planned and guided by clear objectives, standards, measurable indicators and expected outcomes, with the ultimate purpose of improving teaching, learning and learners' outcomes.
She stressed that an inspector does not merely move from one classroom or office to another, but examines the quality of teaching and learning, scrutinises data, and assesses school leadership and management.
Inspectors also evaluate the learning environment and engage with teachers, learners and communities to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas requiring improvement.
Turyagyenda therefore told participants to move beyond the superficiality of visiting schools and embrace the transformative purpose of inspection.
She said inspections should identify problems, provide evidence, guide corrective action and, most importantly, contribute to measurable improvements in the quality of education.
Turyagyenda regretted that some local governments had not fully appreciated the importance of school inspection and the critical role inspectors play in ensuring quality education and preparing millions of children and young people for productive and fulfilling adulthood.
She said the failure of the inspectorate to effectively perform its mandate poses serious consequences, including declining education standards, persistent examination failures, graduates who are inadequately prepared for the world of work, and growing public disillusionment with the education system.
She asked inspectors to examine the root causes of low inspection coverage, including inadequate planning, weak supervision, staffing gaps, limited capacity to use information and communication technology (ICT), or attitudes towards work.
In response, Kellen Ayebazibwe, the outgoing chairperson of UNISA, said the current inspection grant was no longer sufficient to meet prevailing transport fares and called for its revision upwards.
Whereas it is Government policy to have a primary school in each parish or ward and a secondary school at sub-county or division level, Ayebazibwe, who is also the Mbarara District inspector of schools, said many parishes were hard to reach, making it challenging to effectively carry out inspections.
She appealed to the Government to consider providing one motor vehicle for inspection in each local government.
Since inspectors were left out during the Government's salary enhancement, while their general welfare remains wanting, Ayebazibwe appealed to the Government to provide start-up capital for the UNISA SACCO.